Cryptids and Myths Wiki:Workshop/Mapinguari rewrite
|Characteristics=Long reddish hair, second mouth in stomach, backwards feet, noxious stench |Location= , |Reported=1955 |Researchers=Bernard Heuvelmans Ivan T. Sanderon David Oren }} The mapinguari or mapinguary is a cryptid reported from the ian Amazon and possibly , described variably as a red-haired, slope-backed man-like creature, or a long-clawed, bear-like animal similar to a ground sloth. Folklore also gives it a number of characteristics typical of mythical South American monsters, such as backwards feet and a mouth in its abdomen. Early cryptozoologists such as Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson theorised that the mapinguari was some sort of undescribed primate. Later, ornithologist David Oren proposed based on accounts he received that the mapinguari may be a living mylodontid or megalonychid ground sloth, a theory which has become more widespread than the primate theory. This is believed to be due to the lumping together of different unknown animals under the name of "mapinguari". According to George Eberhart, the "giant sloth" variety is most commonly reported from the western Amazon, whilst the "hairy hominid" variety is reported from the eastern Amazon. Karl Shuker, writing on the giant sloth version, says that "it certainly seems to be one of the most likely creatures in the cryptozoological annals to be officially unveiled one day by science". Etymology Câmara Cascudo suggests that "mapinguari" is a contraction of the Tupi-Guarani words: "mbaé," "pi," and "guari," meaning "a thing that has a bent ''or crooked foot or paw''".Felipe Ferreira Vander Velden "Sobre caes e indios: domesticidade, classificacao zoologica e relacao humano-animal entre os Karitiana," Revista de Antropología 15 (2009) p. 125-143 The name is commonly translated as "the roaring animal" or "the fetid beast", an etymology originating with the New York Times. A Spanish-languages website also gives the etymology of mapinguari as "defender of the forests".Peinado, Javier Mapinguari, el perezoso gigante del Amazonas | La Opinión laopinion.com 2019 "Mao de pilao" means "pestle hand" in Portuguese. In folklore Description Physical evidence Photographs Hair Dung Tracks Sightings Undated Several sightings of the kida harara have occured on the Karitiana tribe reservation, especially near an area apparently known as the "Cave of the Mapinguari" (see below, 2003 or 2004), although the Karitiana name for the animal is said to be "kida so'emo". In one incident, a Karitiana man named Moaci was out hunting when he saw what he believed was a giant anteater, due to its claws; but when the animal stood up, it was taller than a man. Moaci fled, pursued by the animal, and hid himself under a tree, which the animal attempted to uproot. In an account given to Pat Spain, two men were driving in their car when a kida harara came out of the forest. They hid, and it moved away. 1930 1937 1953 1975 1977 circa 1970's or 1980's circa 1980's 1981 1997 circa 1990's circa 1993 2003 or 2004 A Karitiana man named Geovaldo claimed to have encountered a kida harara in 2003 or 2004 near an area called "the Cave of the Mapinguari", altough he gives conflicting accounts of the sighting. In the first report, he simply said he had seen it and been knocked unconcious by the smell: This account was confirmed by Geovaldo's father Lucas, who said that when his son took him back to the site of the encounter, he saw a cleared pathway where the creature had departed, "as if a boulder had rolled through and knocked down all the trees and vines". In the very different account given later on Beast Hunter, Geovaldo actually shot the animal. He said he was hunting wild pigs when he was attacked by a kida harara. He fired at it multiple times before loading his gun with a lead slug, and firing at the animals face. The mapinguari stopped and screamed in pain, and Geovaldo escaped. Interviewed for Destination Truth in 2008, Geovaldo said that he saw the kida harara when he went out to hunt, shot at it, and ran off when it charged at him. 2007 2014 Theories Folklore Mistaken identity Primate Ground sloth Bear Similar cryptids More broadly, any alleged living ground sloths in South America and beyond are sometimes equated with the mapinguari. In popular culture Do you think the exists? If so, what do you think the is? Myth, folklore, hoax, or otherwise made-up Mistaken identity Giant sloth Hairy hominid *Televised searches for the mapinguari (or kida harara) include Destination Truth (2008) with Josh Gates, Beast Man (2011) with Pat Spain, and Man v. Monster (2011) with Richard Terry. Notably, the first two of these searches both came up with minor evidence for the mapinguari's existence: Spain blasted a slowed-down recording of a sloth call, and got a response; whilst Gates recorded an unidentifiable sound coming from a region where some palms had just been torn down. Notes and references Category:Workshop